Neville Longbottom and the Underground Rebellion
by lovewriting18
Summary: After Voldemort defeated Harry in the Second Wizarding World, Muggleborns are fearing for their lives more than ever. Neville has made it his personal mission to save as many Muggleborn children as he can. When it comes time to fight Voldemort, will he succeed or will he fail? Full summary inside! Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hell****o**** everyone! Here's a new story that I came up with! I hope you all like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and anything within Harry Potter. I am simply borrowing some characters and writing my own stories.**

**Also, I apologize for any grammatical errors. :)**

**Summary: It's been five years after the Second Wizarding War. Voldemort has risen to a power far stronger than Minister of Magic and he is now the most feared wizard in history. He has ordered any and all Muggleborns to be killed. From little kids showing signs of accidental magic to adults who have become comfortable in the Wizarding World, Muggleborns are in serious danger. With Harry Potter dead, Neville Longbottom has made it his mission to try and save the Muggleborns. With the help of old friends, he has created an underground safe house to keep the Muggleborn children that are saved. One day and young Muggleborn says he wants to fight the Dark Lord. Reluctantly, everyone agrees that it is the only way to make things better. Will Neville, his friends, and the Muggleborns they save be enough to fight against Voldemort? Or will they fail and lose everything they worked hard to save?**

_Lord Voldemort lifts himself to his feet and stumbles to regain his balance. He takes a deep breath and waves off a few Death Eaters._

_"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just give me some space."_

_The Death Eaters take a few steps away from him. They all look at the body of Harry Potter._

_"Well, is he dead?" someone asks._

_"Of course he's dead!"_

_"Well, we don't know that for sure! He survived when he was a baby!"_

_"That doesn't mean a thing!"_

_"Silence, all of you!" Voldemort hisses, "I'm sure he's dead, but it wouldn't hurt to double check."_

_He looks around at his followers with cold eyes. A slender arm raises. Voldemort gestures to a woman with long blond hair, pale skin, and pale blue eyes._

_"I-I'll check." she whispers._

_"No! I want to check! Please, Lord, let me check!" A woman pushes the blond out of the way and stares at Voldemort with wild, dark eyes. Her dark hair falls on her head in a large, tangled mass._

_"But, Bella-" the blond begins._

_"Cissy! I want to be the one! He attacked me at the Ministry! He broke into my vault! Please, Lord!"_

_Voldemort nods, "Very well, Bellatrix."_

_Bellatrix cackles and hurries over to the body. She kneels down and feels his chest. Her eyes widen and she leans her face close to Harry's. She grabs a handful of his dark hair and pulls his head back. Warm breath tickles her cheek. She jumps away._

_"He lives! The boy lives!"_

_Voldemort steps forward, "How is that possible?"_

_"My Lord! There must be a trick at play! Potter did something to prevent you from killing him!"_

_Voldemort cautiously walks over to Harry and nudges him with his foot._

_"Potter...get up! Get up!"_

_He kicks Harry in the side and Harry's eyes open. He looks around with wide, green eyes._

_"Stand up, Potter." Voldemort says._

_Harry struggles to sit, but eventually gets his feet under him._

_"Once again, Voldemort, I've lived through the Killing Curse." he says._

_Voldemort frowns, "But...that isn't possible."_

_"It is. You were careless. You need to learn to think before you act, Voldemort. You didn't kill me. You just killed part of yourself."_

_Realization dawns on Voldemort's face, "A horcrux. You were a horcrux."_

_"That's right. I'm still here, Voldemort. You've made yourself weaker by trying to kill me."_

_"But now I can kill you. There's nothing stopping me from doing so."_

_"That's what you think!"_

_Harry reaches for his wand but finds it isn't on him. He reaches into all of his pockets only to turn up empty. Voldemort allows himself to laugh._

_"You're defenseless, Potter. You don't stand a chance against me."_

_Harry takes a few steps back and Voldemort points his wand at him, "Don't try to run, Harry Potter. You know you'll lose in the end. If you stand here I'll make sure the world knows you died a man, and not a coward running away in fear."_

_Harry grits his teeth and fists his hands. He takes a deep breath and glares at Voldemort._

_"Aveda Kadavra."  
_

* * *

"Come on! Keep up! We're so close!"

"We aren't going to make it!"

"Yes we are! Keep up!"

A young man runs through the streets, two teenage boys and a child following him. The young man looks behind him and his light brown eyes flash in fear. His light brown hair is slick with sweat against his forehead. His breath comes out of him in loud pants.

"We're almost there! Don't slow down!"

The three kids struggle to keep up with him. The child slips in a puddle, sending her tumbling into the cobbled ground. The three others stop.

"You two go ahead! Take the first right and keep running straight! You know where to go after that!" The young man orders.

"But what about you?" one of the teenagers asks.

"I'll catch up, just go!"

The boys hesitate but keep running. The young man picks up the little girl and hurries after them. The little girl wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder. A figure moves in the dark.

"Behind you!" she yells.

The young man turns. He pulls his wand out of his pocket and flicks it, sending a blast of blue light out of the tip. The figure falls to the ground.

"Hang on!" he yells.

He picks up speed and turns to the right. He sees the two boys ahead of him.

_**Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!**_

"What's that noise?" the little girl asks.

The young man dives behind a pile of crates. The little girl shrieks.

"Shh."

"But I'm scared!"

"I know you are, but you need to be quiet, okay? Just for a few moments. Can you do that for me?" he whispers.

She whimpers but nods. He wraps his arms tighter around her and she buries her head in his neck. The young man holds his breath as he hears footsteps get closer. One of them splashes in a puddle.

"Where do you think they went?"

"I don't know. I saw them turn down this street."

"The Dark Lord won't be happy if we lose them."

"Well they can't be far. They're children for crying out loud!"

"But they've got that man with him, whoever he is."

"Whatever. Like I said, they can't be far. Look, there's an alley over here. You two, go check it out. Travers, you and I will look in this building over here. It looks like the door's been busted open."

The footsteps fade away. The young man peeks over the crates and finds the coast to be clear.

"You still need to be very quiet." he whispers.

The little girl nods and tightens her grip. The young man jumps out from behind the crates and runs down the street. He stays in the shadows and doesn't stop until he reaches a worn, black building. He knocks loudly on the door five times, and softly twice. It opens slightly a second later and a wand is aimed at his face.

"Wormtail's other name." says a voice from behind the door.

"Scabbers." the young man breathes.

The door opens a bit more and the young man looks behind himself before ducking inside. He blinks against the dim light. The man who opened the door puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Glad you made it, mate. She okay?"

"Yes. Just terrified."

"Let's take her down stairs."

"Did the others make it?"

"Yes. They got here a few minutes ago."

"They alright?"

"Yes. One boy's got a few nasty bruises, but the other seems to be alright."

They walk behind a counter and the man who opened the door pushes aside a few boxes. He pulls out his own wand and writes out three runes in a gold light. They fade into the wooden floor and the planks fold inward. A bright light shines from below.

"You go down first, and I'll hand you the girl." the young man says.

The other man climbs down a small ladder and holds out his arms. The young man pries the little girl's arms from his neck and passes her down before scrambling down the ladder. He rubs his eyes and looks around him.

"You made it! I was so scared! You just disappeared!"

One of the boys runs over to him and hugs him. He smiles.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you like that, but I'm here now. We're all safe. Now, go finish healing."

The boy grabs the little girl from the other man's arms and they walk into another room.

"I hate to ask this, Neville, but weren't there supposed to be four kids?"

Neville looks at the man in front of him. He studies the shaggy red hair, dull blue eyes and pale skin. Dusty robes are draped over him and dark circles surround his eyes.

"I couldn't save the other one." Neville says.

The red head nods, "What happened?"

"The Death Eaters got there before I could. She was the first stop. When I got to her house, the door had been kicked open and furniture was all over the place. I found her at the top of the stairs with her mum. Her dad was in the kitchen. I was too late."

"We can't save all of them, mate."

"Why not, Ron? Every single one we fail to save we're taking away their hope!"

"And everyone we do save is giving the others hope. Listen, mate. It's hard, I know, but you have to understand we're doing our best. You may have only brought in three out of the four, and I was only able to save less than half of my kids, but every kid we do save is one less kid dead for no reason other than who they are. There are a lot of negative factors at play here. We need to do our best to focus on the positive."

Neville nods, "I guess you're right. I just wish things were different."

"We all do, Neville. Believe me, we all do."

"Anyway, how have things been down here today? Did Dean get back?"

"Yeah, about eight this morning. His kid made it back safely, but they got attacked along the way. He's recovering right now."

"How's the kid?"

"Alright. 'Mione says she'll be okay after a few days of rest. Speaking of, you should rest, mate. You've been through a lot."

Neville nods and rolls his shoulders, "I want to check on the kids real quick, then I'll shower and go to bed. You'll be fine looking after things?"

"Yes," Ron says, "I've only got a few more hours before Ernie's shift then I'll get some sleep my self."

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night."

Neville walks into the room the boy and girl had gone into moments before. All three kids are sitting on a bed drinking a mug of tea. The little girl has a bandage wrapped around her knee and she has a wool blanket draped around her. Her dark hair is falling out of her braid and her green eyes are still bright with fear. One of the boys has his arm around her. His dark hair is pulled back from a small gash on his forehead and his eyelids are drooping over his green eyes. The other has his hazel eyes fixed on the floor. Dark bruises cover his face and arms. There are pink patches of skin throughout his blonde hair, as if it had been pulled out.

Neville clears his throat and all three of them look up at him.

"Hey." he says, "How are you all feeling?"

"Better, thanks to 'Mione!" the little girl says, smiling a little.

"Well that's good. Boys?"

The one with the bruises shrugs and the other one rests his head on the little girls head.

"Our parents are dead, aren't they?" he asks quietly.

Neville nods slowly, "I'm afraid they are."

A tear escapes the boy's eye, "By those masked people. Death Eaters?"

"Yes."

"They died by magic?"

"Yes. They wouldn't have felt a thing."

The boy nods, "Thank you for saving my sister and I."

"Don't mention it. That's what I'm here for."

A woman appears from the corner of the room. She hands each of them a small phial.

"Here, each of you drink this. It'll help ease some of your pain."

The kids take the phials and drink them. The woman smiles.

"I'm afraid I can't really help you more. I wish I could, but I'm afraid I might make things worse."

"It's alright." The boy with the gash says, "You've helped more than you know."

"Thank you. I'll leave you three to yourselves now. The potion I gave you can make you drowsy, so I suggest you get ready for bed. I'll be close if you need me."

She bids the kids good night before following Neville out of the room.

"The boys aren't talking to me, Neville. Only the little girl is." she says after closing the door.

"What has she told you?"

"Just that her name is Annie Lewis. She's seven years old and loves to play with dolls."

"The boy with his arm around her is her brother. He's Eric. He's eleven and a Muggleborn. He didn't start to show signs of magic until he was nine, but the signs were so weak that no one thought he'd be a Wizard until he appeared on the list. His sister had just started showing signs of magic a few weeks ago, and the Ministry didn't want to take any chances with her. I got to their house only moments before the Death Eaters did. Their parents told me to take the kids and they would do their best to stall. Before we got out, I saw the Death Eaters kill both of them.

"The other boy, that's Chester Stone. He's been on the run since the Death Eaters showed up at his doorstep two years ago. He watched his parents die, but he knew what was going on. His next door neighbors were Purebloods. They told him all about the Wizarding World. I'm not sure what happened to them, but after the Death Eaters came to his house, Chester ran. He's been living on the streets for two years. I'm actually surprised he's still alive. I thought he would've been caught months ago. We got word he was hiding out behind this restaurant and there he was ready to fight with an old knife. He was bruised when we found him."

"Where did Eric split his head open?"

"A shattered window in his house. I tried my best to stop the bleeding but we had to keep moving. Are you sure there isn't more you can do for them, Hermione?"

The woman runs her hands through her long, wavy, brown hair. She looks at him with tired, brown eyes.

"I can't, Neville. I wish I could, but healing is one of the few things I struggle with. One mistake and things can go wrong. I'm reading and practicing the best I can, but I'm so tired. These kids count on us to save them, but I can't even heal bruises properly!"

Neville pulls her into a hug as she starts to cry.

"This is just so unfair!"

"There are a lot of things that are unfair, Hermione. We're trying the best we can to fix things. It's tough, but we've got to keep trying."

She nods, "Harry wouldn't want us to stop."

"Harry would be so proud of us."

"He really would."

They hug for a moment longer until Hermione pulls away, wiping her eyes.

"I think I'm going to get something to eat. Want anything?" she asks.

Neville shakes his head, "I'm going to shower real quick and go to bed."

"Alright. Have a good night."

"You too."

He smiles at her before walking down a hallway. He peeks into a few rooms and sees children sleeping everywhere: on beds, couches, and on the floor. He walks back up the hall until he reaches the ladder. After bidding Ron and Hermione another good night, he climbs back up the ladder. Neville draws out the runes again and the planks seal together. He pushes the boxes back over the opening before walking over to a staircase. Neville walks up to the top of the stairs and down a crooked hallway. He reaches a door at the end of the hall. He opens the door slowly and hears someone's soft voice. Neville tiptoes through the dark room and to the bathroom. Once inside, he closes the door, turns on the light, strips off his clothes and steps into a shower. He turns the water on and sighs when the hot water hits his skin. Dirt and dried blood pool around his feet. Neville cleans himself quickly and gets out. After wrapping a fluffy towel around his waist he walks out and blindly feels his way to a dresser.

"How'd it go?" a soft, high-pitched voice asks.

"It could've been worse." Neville whispers, pulling on a pair of flannel pants.

"But you made it back alive."

"I did." He sits on the bed, "Any strange visitors today?"

"No one out of the ordinary. It was a quiet day, which I didn't like."

"And why's that?"

"It gave me too much time to worry about you. I'm glad you're okay."

Soft lips kiss his cheek. Neville reaches out in the darkness and strokes long hair.

"How was Alice?" he asks.

"Quiet for most of the day. She just woke up a bit ago crying. This is the fourth night in a row. I think we should let her sleep in our bed tonight."

Neville nods, "That's fine. I could use the snuggles."

He gets under the blankets and lies on his side. A little body snuggles into him under the covers. He reaches over it until he's touching a long, slender arm. A small yawn grabs his attention and he allows a yawn to escape him.

"You must be tired, Nev."

"A bit."

"Well, get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

A short giggle reaches his ears and he smiles. Soon deep breathing fills the room and he allows himself to close his eyes and let sleep take him.

**So, what does everyone think? Message me, review, favorite, follow or whatever else you wanna do! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! I hope you all like it! :) **

**P.S. I'm in school, so I don't know if my updates will be regular at all. I'll try my best! **

Neville wakes up alone the next morning. He stretches before climbing out of bed and padding over to the bathroom. After doing his business he studies his reflection in the mirror: the dark circles under his eyes, uneven stubble, and light scars. He washes his face and shaves. _A little better._ He thinks.

Neville exits the bathroom, puts on jeans, a sweater and his trainers. He walks out of his room, down the hallway, and down the stairs. Voices float up to him and he smiles at the small group of people sitting at the tables.

"Morning, Mr. Longbottom!"

"Good morning to you, Matt."

"How are you today, Neville!"

"Fine. Yourself."

"Oi! Longbottom!"

Neville greets a few more people before walking over to the counter. He leans against it and clears his throat. The woman turns around and smiles.

"Good morning, sweetheart." She says.

"Morning, Hannah."

He shares her smile and takes a moment to admire her. He takes in her long, blond hair that falls loosely on her shoulders and her warm brown eyes.

"What are you staring at?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Because you're beautiful."

She blushes, "Neville, please."

"It's true. You're the most beautiful girl in the world and I'm glad I married you."

"If I'm the most beautiful girl in the world then you're the most handsome man I've ever seen."

Neville leans over the counter and kisses her cheek.

"Daddy!"

He looks down and at the floor. By Hannah's feet is a little girl. Her short brown hair is in pigtails and her brown eyes sparkle when she sees Neville.

"Why hello pumpkin!"

Hannah picks her up and hands her to Neville.

"Look!" She exclaims.

She holds out her yellow shirt and Neville shakes his head at the jelly stain.

"It's not even ten in the morning and you've already made a mess of yourself."

"She did?" Hannah asks.

"Yes, look."

"Alice! That was not there a few minutes ago."

Hannah disappears behind the counter and comes back up a moment later with an open jar of jelly.

"Aha! Here's the culprit!"

Neville looks at the small girl in his arms.

"Now, Alice, you know you aren't supposed to play with the jars."

She nods.

"So why did you?"

"Jelly!"

"Who am I kidding? It's because you're two. Come on. I'll change you."

"Don't even bother. She'll spill something on herself in a few hours." Hannah says, then turns her attention to someone else.

Neville pulls out his wand, "Here. A little scourgify and we should be good."

The stain disappears from her shirt and she hugs him.

"Neville."

Neville looks at Hannah and she slightly jerks her head to the door. His arms tighten around Alice when three wizards and a witch with long, dark robes walk in. One has scars on his face, one wears a Death Eater's mask, one is pale and looks at everyone with dark eyes, and the woman has long, ratty, curly black hair. She looks at Neville and smirks.

"Mr. Longbottom." she says.

"Bellatrix Lestrange. What brings you to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"I came to talk with the Landlady."

Hannah clears her throat, "How can I help you?"

"A few of our Death Eaters were supposed to meet a few Muggleborn children yesterday afternoon, but things did not go as planned."

"What does that have to do with the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Our Death Eaters claim to have seen these kids under the aide of a man run into your building."

"I'm afraid your Death Eaters must be mistaken. No one came in here last night. I close my inn at ten o'clock just like the Dark Lord ordered me to."

"If what you say is true, then you won't mind if we take a look around?"

"Go right ahead."

Bellatrix gives orders to the Death Eaters and the one wearing the mask stands guard in front of the door while the others run upstairs.

"Daddy?" the little girl whispers.

"Shh, sweetheart."

"Scared."

"I know you are. It'll just be a few more minutes."

_The young man dives behind a pile of crates. The little girl shrieks._

_"Shh."_

_"But I'm scared!"_

_"I know you are, but you need to be quiet, okay? Just for a few moments. Can you do that for me?" he whispers._

Neville looks past Hannah at the boxes behind her. He thinks about all the kids hidden under there, including the scared little girl he saved last night. He holds his daughter tighter. Neville watches as Hannah counts money in the cash register and looks completely natural, but he can see her hands shaking.

Minutes pass and no one says a word. Finally, Bellatrix and the other two return.

"There is nothing that seems to be out of the ordinary." Bellatrix says.

"Then you'll be off?" Hannah asks.

"Yes. But if we get word that you're hiding these children in your inn we will tear it down, understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Bellatrix turns to Neville, "Those new scars, Longbottom?"

"I don't know. I get attacked by all sorts of plants these days, I don't know what scars are new and what scars aren't."

"Huh, I'm sure. Your daughter is quite pretty. If you raise her right she can come train under me."

Neville glares at her but doesn't reply. She lightly cackles and leaves with her Death Eaters. Slowly, the pleasant sound of breakfast conversation returns.

"You were seen last night." Hannah whispers.

"I know. They were close to us all night."

"What if she had found something, Nev?"

"She won't. It's completely hidden. Everything will be okay."

"I'm just scared Neville. They're catching on that someone's helping these kids escape. Sooner or later they might-"

"Don't say it. It will never happen."

"But it did happen. Remember? With Seamus?"

Neville looks at the floor, remembering all to well what had happened to Seamus Finnigan. Seven months before he got caught trying to save Muggleborn twins. His body was found three days later with signs of torture all over him. The two children he had with him had been killed on the spot.

"We've been better at hiding ourselves. Seamus is the only one that got caught. We had a few close calls yesterday, but we're still okay."

"I just don't want you to get captured."

"I won't. I promise."

"I wish you didn't have to do this."

"I know. One more week and I'm off to Hogwarts. I'll be done with the missions for the school year."

"I don't like you going there either."

"I know, but I'm there to help Minvera, Horace and the other professors protect the children."

"I know. I still don't like it."

Neville smiles and hands her Alice.

"Neville."

A man leans against the counter next to him. He smiles at Hannah. He wears a hat pulled low over his face, but Neville can see little tufts of blond hair poke out underneath.

"Ernie." he whispers.

"Been to Scotland lately?"

"No."

"You should visit. I hear there's five churches there that have really nice architecture."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Parvati was telling me the other day that she wants to go. Maybe you two could go together one of these days."

"Yeah. I'll talk to her about it, as long as Hannah won't mind."

Hannah lowers her gaze, "Of course not. Alice is a handful and I have the inn to run. Besides, that's where Neville and I spent our honeymoon."

Ernie chuckles, "Then that should make the trip awkward enough for Parvati. Anyway, she's making a list of all the places she wants to go. I told her about those five churches though. I've seen pictures and they look really interesting. I heard they're falling apart though so you should make a trip before they completely crumble into nothing."

"Alright, well thank you. I'll talk to her about it as soon as I can." Neville says.

"Great. Thank you again for letting me stay here, Mrs. Longbottom."

Hannah smiles, "Come back again anytime."

"I just might make another trip in the next few days. I'll see you two around."

Neville watches him walk out the door. He glances at Hannah and immediately feels his heart break at the sadness in her eyes.

"Hannah, I-"

"Be careful with Parvati, Neville. She's been...different since Padma died. She can be too irrational at times and it always puts her in a bad place. Make sure you're safe."

"I will. I'm sorry I have to go again so soon."

"Don't apologize. Just come back safe."

He kisses her quickly before walking out of the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

_**Pop!**_

Neville looks up at the small house in front of him. He steps over shrubs and knocks on the front door. A few moments later it opens. Neville smiles at the woman in front of him. Her long dark hair is braided and hangs over her shoulder and her tan skin is as flawless as he remembers. When she smiles though, it doesn't reach her eyes.

"Hello, Neville." she says.

"Hi, Parvati. How are you doing?"

"I wish I could say I'm doing well, but my parents haven't been feeling any better. I guess I'm just a little stressed with having to take care of them and all."

He nods, "I know exactly how you feel."

"I know. Please, come in."

Neville follows her into the house.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Please have a seat."

Neville sits on a squishy couch and Parvati sits across from him.

"So," he begins, "I hear you want to go to Scotland."

"Don't worry. They aren't watching me, and if they were my father is one of the best at protective spells. No one's going to eavesdrop."

"Then let's get started."

"Susan Bones told me that the Ministry got word of there being five Muggleborns in Scotland. One of them is only nine, but she is showing strong magic. They won't take any chances with her. A boy is a Muggleborn, but he lives with his Aunt and Uncle, and his Aunt is a witch. He turns eleven in two weeks. Another boy just turned eleven yesterday and he lives in an orphanage. There's a girl who's been eleven for a while now, but her signs of magic have been so weak that no one really noticed her until closer inspection. Finally, we've got another kid who's been on the run from Death Eaters. She's twelve and I guess when the Death Eaters broke into her house, she just ran. She was able to dodge them for a year, but someone recognized her. They kept watch on her for a few weeks and found she doesn't stay in the same place for more than a few days. She travels well. The Death Eaters haven't been able to catch her and she never stays in sight long enough for them to fire a curse at her."

"Smart girl."

"She's smart, but she's probably also terrified. The Death Eaters are gaining on her, that much we know. We need to get her and all of these kids out as soon as possible. Susan tells me that the Death Eaters are really starting to catch on now that someone is helping these kids escape. They'll be faster and they'll be expecting us. It'll be harder to get these kids, but we need to get to them as soon as possible."

"How much time do we have?"

"The Death Eaters are going to start their journey at three."

"It's almost noon. We've got time."

"Not really. Three of the kids live near each other so the Ministry has put a boundary around them. If we apparate inside the perimeters alarms will go off and we'll be ambushed. We'll need to travel by foot and hope we aren't spotted."

"Polyjuice."

"We can't. The barriers are created specifically to remove any traces of spells, potions or anything deceitful. Our disguise would be a waste of time."

"What do you propose we do?"

Parvati pulls out a map. "This area here is where three of the kids live. It's small enough to contain, but large enough to be a hassle for us. Since it is the most guarded I suggest we go there first and get the kids out. After that we can go to this house here, pick up the boy, and then go find the girl."

"Wouldn't it be easier to get the girl first?"

"We might waste our time trying to find her and the other four could die."

Neville nods, "I see. I guess it would be easier sneaking across the boundary without a bunch of kids. Do you think we should split up?"

"I don't know. I've thought about it. It would decrease our chances of getting caught and increase our speed, but what if we got ambushed anyway? We couldn't help each other. This is a big mission. There's a reason Susan suggested that two of us go instead of just one."

"Let's just stick together, but maybe we can devise a plan if we have to split up."

"Sounds good."

"So, when do you wanna leave?"

"About ten minutes ago. We need to get moving. Susan thinks the Death Eaters are going to go through the surrounded area first, so if we can get in and out of there before they do then I'd say we're making pretty good progress."

"Alright. Let's go."

Parvati folds the map and sticks into her pocket. She takes Neville's arm and they apparate with a loud _**pop!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Here's chapter three! :D I know this update was a little late but I was busy taking care of my grandpa and what not...everything is a lot better now so you should be expecting more regular updates! :)**

Neville and Parvati appear in a small area full of trees. Parvati pulls out her map and she leads them out of the trees and to a town.

"Wait a second." Neville says.

He looks around and sees multiple men standing on the outskirts. They wear simple suits and are all reading newspapers. They look simple and normal enough to blend in, but Neville can tell they aren't looking at their papers, instead choosing to scan the perimeter.

"Death Eaters." he mutters.

Parvati nods. "We need to figure out a way around them."

"Here. I always come prepared."

Neville reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded sun hat. He puts a cap on his own head and a pair of sunglasses. Parvati tilts the sun hat to cover part of her face.

"Grab my arm and laugh." he says.

Parvati loops her arm through his and they walk toward the town together, her laughing and him rambling on about a comedy film he had seen. They walk right past a man in his suit and he doesn't give them a second look.

"We're in." Parvati whispers.

"Where do we go from here?"

"West. Follow me."

They grin and chat among themselves as they walk through town. Parvati points to a few things and Neville pretends to comment. Finally, they reach a house with a white picket fence surrounding it and wind chimes all over the porch.

"Just look at this house, sweetheart. I want to live in one just like it." Parvati says.

Neville smiles, "You will. I wonder if the owner will mind if we take a look?"

"I don't see why not. Let's go see."

They walk through the fence and to the front door. Neville knocks lightly. After a moment, the door opens and a woman smiles at them.

"How may I help you?" she asks.

"Hi. We were just admiring your house." Parvati says, "It really is quite beautiful."

"Thank you."

"I know we're complete strangers, but would you mind if we took a quick look at the interior? Just to get a feel of the home life?"

"Oh, um, I guess not. Come on in."

She steps aside and they walk in. As soon as the door closes, Parvati pulls out her wand. She waves it and mutters a spell.

"We have approximately two minutes before the spell wears off." she says.

"Spell?" the woman asks.

"Ma'am, we're not here about your house. We're here for your daughter."

"What? My daughter?"

"Yes. My name is Neville Longbottom and this is Parvati Patil. We're coming to save your daughter. You see, she's a witch and in about an hour bad wizards are going to come and kill her because she is something we call a Muggleborn."

"Witch? Muggleborn? What does this all mean?"

"I would love to explain everything to you, really I would, but we don't have the time. We have two other children to see before the hour is up. We need to take your daughter before they get to her."

"I don't understand."

"Ma'am, if we take your daughter, she will be safe and living in an underground safe house where no one will know she is. She may not live her life peacefully, but she'll be alive. If she doesn't come with us, bad wizards will break into your house and not only kill her but the rest of your family, including you. We need to take her before that happens."

The woman stares at Neville with both shock and sadness.

"One minute." Parvati says.

"Do you trust me?" Neville asks.

The woman hesitates before nodding. She walks to the stairs.

"Jenny! Come here!"

Seconds later a little girl comes thundering down the stairs, her curly blond hair in pigtails.

"Yes ma?" she asks.

"Sweetie, I need you to go with this man here."

"Why? Is it because I set fire to my bed the other day? I told you it was an accident."

"No, hon, this isn't about that. I just need you to go with him."

"But-"

"No buts. Just go. Please."

The little girl pouts but nods. The woman hugs her quickly before pushing her in the direction of Neville.

"I love you, sweetheart." she says.

"I love you too, ma."

Neville takes the girl's hand and leads her to the front door.

"I'll never see her again, will I?" the woman asks.

Parvati nods. "It's highly unlikely." She points her wand at the woman. "Obliviate."

The woman blinks a few times and looks uncertainly around the room. Neville, Parvati and Jenny walk out of the house.

"Where are we going?" Jenny asks.

"A better place. You aren't safe here anymore, which is why we took you away from your mum." Neville says.

"Are bad people coming after me?"

"Yes."

"Will I be safe?"

"Yes. By tonight we should be safely home. Where to next, Parvati?"

"The orphanage."

Parvati takes the girl's other hand and the three of them walk through the streets. Neville chats about a futball game while Parvati laughs. The little girl keeps her eyes on the ground.

"Here we are." Parvati says.

A two story wooden building looms in front of them. The windows are boarded up and many of the wooden planks are rotting.

"Are there children in here?" Neville asks.

"Yes. It's disgusting how they keep these children in a dump like this. I'd better give them a piece of my mind!"

She storms over to the door and Neville chases her down, the girl stumbling behind him.

"Parvati, wait. If we barge in and make a scene we could fail miserably. We need to be calm about this. I hate that there are children living in a building like this, but we have a mission. There is a little boy in there who is going to die for his birthday. We need to get him out."

"Right. I'm sorry. It's just-Padma, she had plans to build a new chain of orphanages. They were going to be nice and more than just a place to hold kids. They were going to be like real homes and just seeing this makes me think of her."

Neville wipes a tear from her face, "I know. This is really hard, I know. But we-"

"I know. There's a boy in there that needs us."

They push open the rickety door and walk over to a desk. A large woman sits behind it, her gray hair falling out of her bun, a cigarette in her mouth, and a bottle of brandy in her hand.

"How may I help you?" she asks.

"Excuse me but this is an orphanage. There are children in here!" Parvati exclaims.

"And your point?"

"You're exposing children to toxins! Have you any decency and compa-"

"Parvati." Neville hisses, "Another time."

She takes a breath. "Right. Ma'am, I would like to speak to Alan Macentire."

"Are you interested in him?"

"Yes."

"He's in the back. Follow me."

Parvati follows the woman through a door. Neville and the girl sit on chairs.

"Is this boy in trouble, too?" Jenny asks.

"Yes."

"Is the same bad man after him?"

"Yes, he is, but you don't need to worry. My friend and I are going to take you all to a safe place okay?"

"Okay."

"How old are you, Jenny?"

"Nine."

"You know, at the place where we're going, there a bunch of other kids who are nine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are they nice?"

"Very. I'm sure they'll be happy to be your friend."

Suddenly, the back door swings open and Parvati runs through pulling a boy with her.

"Go!" she yells.

They jump up from their seats and run out of the orphanage. Once outside they slow to a fast walk. Parvati leads them through a few side streets and they stop behind a store.

"What happened?" Neville asks, "Did a Death Eater show up?"

"No. I stunned her."

"Who? The lady running the orphanage?"

"Yes."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"It was so awesome! She pointed her wand at her and boom! There was this red light and then Ms. Uglias went flying!" the boy exclaims.

"What? You let the kid see? Parvati!"

"She was being cruel Neville! One of the boys started to cry when I came to take Alan and she hit him! What was I supposed to do?"

"This isn't what we're doing! We're supposed to get in and out without being noticed! You're ruining everything!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you! You need to get your emotions in check before you ruin this entire mission!"

Parvati, Jenny and Alan stare at Neville with open mouths. He kicks the wall a few times and curses to himself.

"We need to move." Neville says. "We need to move fast. Chances are someone will have noticed something's wrong at the orphanage and the Death Eaters will know she was stunned. Come on."

He takes the little girl's hand and pulls her along, followed by Parvati and Alan.

"Where are we going Parvati?" he asks.

"Edge of town. Sheena lives right by the water's edge." she says.

The four of them walk behind the buildings, staying in the shadows. Once they crouch behind a dumpster until a group of three Death Eaters pass. Jenny grips Neville's hand tightly and walks close to him, looking around in fear. Alan talks the entire time, asking Parvati to make the red light come again.

"Alright, we're at the water's edge. Which...house?"

Neville looks at the row of mobile homes, all sitting on cinder blocks.

"Um...I'm not sure." Parvati says.

"Are you looking for Sheena's house?" Alan asks.

"Yes. Do you know her?"

"Yeah! She's in my class! I came over here once. Come on!"

They follow Alan to a mobile home in the middle. He knocks on the door and a minute later it's opened by an elderly man.

"Yes?" he asks.

"Hello, sir. Is Sheena home?" Neville asks.

"What did you say?"

"Is Sheena home?"

"Who?"

"Sheena? Does she live here?"

"What? Who's Sheena?"

"Oh, Grandpa! Let me see who's at the door."

A girl gently pushes him out of the way. She smiles when she sees Alan.

"Hi."

"Hi, Sheena. These people want to talk to you." Alan says.

"Who are you? Are you coming to take me away?"

"How did you know?" Parvati asks.

"No! I won't let you take me! I want to be here!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're the social workers, aren't you? You've come to take me away from my Grandpa!"

"We aren't social workers." Neville says.

"Then who are you?"

"May we come inside to talk? I don't want to draw attention."

Sheena hesitates before moving aside. The four of them walk inside and they all sit on the couch where the elderly man sits staring at a fuzzy T.V. screen.

"My name is Neville Longbottom, and this is Parvati Patil. We're wizards." Neville says.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No. I understand that is sounds ridiculous, but you have to trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Because you're a witch."

"Me? Are you crazy?"

"No, please just listen. Have you ever done something that you couldn't explain? Set things on fire or broken something."

"Yeah...Grandpa told me it was all just a coincidence."

"Well it isn't. You were showing signs of magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so if I'm a witch, then how come no one else in my family is?"

"You're something called a Muggleborn. That means you are the first in your family to be a witch or wizard. These two kids here are Muggleborns too."

"Are you?"

"No, I'm a Pureblood. Parvati here is a Half-Blood, meaning that one of her parents was a wizard and the other is a muggle. Both of my parents had magic."

"Okay, so if this is all real, then what are you doing here?"

"We've come to take you to a safe place." Parvati says.

"Why?"

"There's a man out there who's really powerful and wants to kill you. He'll be by in a few hours. If you come with us now you could be safe."

Sheena looks back and forth between Neville and Parvati before lowering her eyes to the floor.

"This is real, isn't it?" she asks.

"Yes." Parvati says.

"Can my Grandpa come too? He's the only family I have left."

"Sheena, listen. This is really hard to say, but he-" Neville begins.

The old man interrupts him. "No. I won't go."

"Grandpa?" Sheena asks.

"I'll be alright. I want you to go."

"But, I just can't leave you."

"Yes, you can."

"But what if you need something?"

"I need you to be safe. I've been around long enough to know that you have to trust that bad things will happen. I want you to be safe. Go with them."

"But-"

"Go."

Sheena hesitates but kisses her grandfather on the forehead. She runs out of the home with tears dripping down her cheeks. After Parvati erases his memory, everyone else leaves.

"I hope the next two aren't as difficult." Parvati says, dabbing at her eyes.

"I do too. Come on. Let's get past the boundary and apparate."

They hurry through the town, hoping to not draw too much attention to themselves. The second they're past the boundaries, they apparate.

When they reappear in the middle of a forest, the three kids stumble around until they end up falling. Alan crawls over to a bush to throw up.

"What was that?" Sheena asks.

"We apparated." Neville says, "It's basically teleporting."

"Can we not do that again?"

"I'm sorry, but we have to. It's the fastest way we travel, which means it is also the safest. We really had to rush back there. Next time we'll give you more warning though. Come here."

Neville holds out his hand and pulls her to her feet. He does the same for Jenny and Alan.

"I think we need to go North." Parvati says.

"Why are we in a forest? I don't see houses anywhere."

"You'll see."

Parvati leads the way, followed by the three kids, then Neville. They work their way through the forest until they come to a clearing. Parvati points to the top of a hill.

"There." she says.

Neville gawks at the large house.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. His family is filthy rich."

"Alright, well, maybe you can stay here with the kids and I'll go check."

"Why can't we all go?"

"I don't think it'll be necessary. If his Aunt's a witch then she'll understand and maybe I can get in and out quicker. There's no point in all of us going."

"Alright. We'll be over there behind those trees."

"I'll be back soon."

Neville jogs up to the large front doors. He rings the bell and jumps when the loud chimes echo on the porch.

"Coming!"

Through the tinted glass doors Neville can see a man approach. The door opens and they share a quick smile.

"Hello, sir. My name is Neville Longbottom."

"How do you do?"

"Um...is your nephew home by any chance?"

"Yes. We've just sat down for afternoon tea with my wife. What is this about?"

"Sir, your nephew is in terrible danger."

"Danger? What do you mean?"

"I mean that there are some very bad people after him and I need to get him out of here before they do."

"How do I know you aren't the bad person?"

"You have to trust me."

"Why should I trust you?"

Neville pulls his wand out of his shirt sleeve. Than man's eyes widen.

"Is that a-a wand?"

"Yes."

"My wife has one...you'd better come in."

Neville follows the man into the house and ends up hurrying after him to the outdoor patio. A woman and a boy are sitting out there drinking tea.

"Fiona, this man, he says Malcolm is in danger." the man says.

She stands up and walks over to him. "What do you mean, danger?"

"The Dark Lord is sending Death Eaters after him. As a Witch I'm sure you've heard about how Muggleborn children are disappearing every day? Some of them turn up dead and others don't turn up at all?"

"Yes. I've wondered where all those children go."

"I have them. My friends and I have been saving them. We go out and find them before the Death Eaters do and we bring them to a safe house. Your nephew is on their list today."

"No."

"Yes. Please, we need to take him."

"I was planning on taking him when they found him...are they really after him today?"

"I'm afraid so."

She nods and blinks tears from her eyes.

"Hon, what is it?" the man asks.

She shakes her head and walks over to where the boy is sitting. They talk to each other in low voices for a few moments before he hugs her tightly. He hugs the man before standing next to Neville.

"I'm going to have to-" Neville begins.

"Obliviate me." she says, "I know. We're ready."

Neville erases their memory before hurrying out of the house with the boy. They find the others crouched behind the trees.

"We've got Malcolm. Now we just need to find the last girl." Neville says.

"She's going to be hard to find. Last the Ministry heard she was hiding out behind an old pub." Parvati remarks.

"Then let's start there. She's traveling on foot so she won't have gotten too far."

"Alright. Everyone, we're going to apparate, okay?"

The four kids nod.

"Everyone hold hands."

The kids take each other's hand and Jenny grabs Neville's hand while Alan holds Parvati's.

"One. Two. Three."

They apparate out of the forest.

**What's gonna happen when they go after the last kid? :O**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all so much for reading! I love you guys! :D**

They appear next to an overflowing dumpster.

"That is disgusting." Parvati says.

"Sorry. Where is the girl?"

"Um...she might be over there around the corner. It looks like there are a lot of boxes that she could be hiding in."

Neville nods. "You stay here with the kids. I'll check first."

"Yell for me if you need anything."

"Of course. If I don't come back in a few minutes, assume I'm ambushed and get the kids back, okay?"

"No. I can't just leave-"

"We have to save who we can. If there are Death Eaters waiting back there, you need to get the four of them out of here. I can protect myself and if I can't, then we at least saved four kids."

"But-"

"No buts. Just agree."

Parvati hesitates before nodding her agreement. "Be careful."

"I will."

Neville walks over to the pile of boxes and trash. His wand is at his side and his steps are light and slow. He avoids stepping on any items that can snap or crunch.

"Anyone here?" he asks.

He uses the tip of his wand to lift up a blanket and realizes it's draped over a large box like a door. He peers in and doesn't find anyone, but he sees a bed made out of more blankets and a few food wrappers. _She was here._ He looks through a few more boxes, but there's no sign that anyone is there. After a few moments, he returns to Parvati.

"She isn't here."

Parvati rubs her face with her hands. "She's supposed to be."

"Well, maybe she's out looking for food."

"Or she's on the run."

"Could be. What's she look like?"

"Um, blonde, tall, probably too thin. She'll probably also be covered in dirt."

"I think we should do a perimeter. If she's out looking for food, then she'll probably be around here somewhere."

"Right. You take two and a I'll take two."

Neville takes Jenny's hand and Malcolm stands next to him. Alan and Sheena stand with Parvati.

"You go left and I'll go right. We meet back here in ten minutes." Parvati says.

"Right."

"Neville?"

"Hmm?"

"What if we can't find her?"

"I don't know."

She nods and leads her two kids to the right. Neville, Jenny and Malcolm walk in the other direction.

"When are we getting to the safe place?" Jenny asks.

"Soon. We just need to find one more girl and then we can go."

"How many of us are in danger?"

"Too many."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"My Aunt says there's a Dark Wizard out there who kills for fun." Malcolm says.

"I wouldn't say he kills for fun, but he definitely doesn't feel any regret for doing so."

"He wants to kill us, doesn't he?" Jenny asks.

"Yes. This is why you're going to live at a safe house with us. You'll stay there until it's safe and our space is limited, which is why your parents can't come along. And besides, he only goes after the children. He won't harm the Muggles if they don't pose a threat."

"So, my mummy should be safe?"

"Should be, yes. Stop walking."

Neville squints against the warm sun. He sees a tiny body climb out of a dumpster.

"I think that's her." he says, "Alright, listen. I need you two to be quiet and calm, okay? I don't want to frighten her and have her run and cause a scene, okay?"

The two kids nod. They walk quickly but quietly over to where the girl is crouching next to the dumpster, licking something off her fingers. When Neville, Jenny and Malcolm approach she scoots back until she is completely in the shade.

"Hello?" Neville asks.

The girl doesn't respond. Neville crouches and takes a few steps closer. The girl watches him from the darkness, her dark eyes wide and alert. Her blond hair is tangled with dirt and twigs and her clothes are ripped and ragged.

"Hi there. You don't have to be scared of me."

"Go away." she hisses.

"I won't hurt you. I promise."

"Liar. That's what the others said."

"The others. You mean the people chasing you, don't you? They wear all black, and some of them even wear masks, don't they?"

"Go away."

"I'm not wearing any of that stuff. That's only what the bad ones wear. I'm one of the good guys. I'm here to help you and save you."

"I don't believe you."

"I know it's hard for you to believe me after you've spent the last year running for your life, but you've got to."

"No. I know you're going to kill me."

Neville sighs and sits with his legs crossed. "What's your name?"

"Leave me alone."

"You know, you're pretty brave. Not many people would run like you did. They'd cower and let the bad people get them. You didn't. You took the scary route and ran. You're probably one of the bravest people I've ever known."

"Whatever."

"You'd probably be sorted into Gryffindor."

"Gryffindor?"

"Yes. I'm a Gryffindor."

"What's that?"

"It's a house full of some of the bravest people the Wizarding World has ever known. If you were at Hogwarts, you'd definitely be a part of them."

"Hogwarts? Wizarding World?"

"Yes. You're a witch, which is why the bad people are after you. They don't want you alive because you're parents weren't wizards."

"Are you a wizard?"

"Yes. See?"

Neville pulls out his wand. He transfigures a rotted tin can into a clean cup and fills it with water. The girl gratefully drinks from it.

"How did you do that?" she asks.

"Magic."

"That explains the sticks those people were using."

"It does. Listen, I know this is all so new to you, but we have to leave. I can take you back to safe place where you'll meet lots of other witches and wizards who will help you. No one bad will find you there."

The girl hugs her knees tighter. "How do I know you aren't lying? The bad wizards told me they could help me, but then they tried to hurt me."

"I know they did, but listen, I'm not going to hurt you. You have no reason to trust me, but you have to."

"I don't know..."

Neville opens his mouth to say something, but stops when Jenny and Malcolm sit next to him.

Jenny smiles. "Hi. I'm Jenny, and this is Malcolm. What's your name?"

"Aileen."

"You should listen to Neville, Aileen. He's saving us. He and his friend, Parvati, are saving us kids."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's really nice and he's making sure we're safe."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Come with us."

Jenny holds out her hand. Aileen eyes it warily before slowly taking it.

Neville grins. "There you go. I promise you'll be safe, Aileen. Now, let's go find the others and get out of here."

They all stand up and walk a few steps before Aileen stumbles.

"Sorry." she says.

"It's okay." Neville says. "You're probably exhausted, hungry and in need of a Healer. Hop on."

He leans down and Aileen climbs on his back.

"Alright, Malcom and Jenny stay close to me, okay? Hold each other's hands. I know you're too old to be doing that so don't look at me like that, but please just do as I ask. We're almost there, okay?"

The kids grumble but take each other's hands. They walk in the direction Parvati had gone.

"Are there books at this house?" Malcolm asks.

"Lots." Neville says.

"Toys?" Jenny asks.

"We've got a few. Stop!"

They freeze in place. Neville puts Aileen down and ushers the three of them behind a car.

"Stay here and don't say a word." he orders.

He leaves them there and walks over to an empty lot surrounded by debris. Peering over a pile, he sees five Death Eaters in a circle, pointing their wands at Parvati, who's on her knees in the middle. One of the Death Eaters has Sheena and Alan by the arms.

"So you're the one who's been breaking the law." One of the Death Eaters says.

"There's no law that says it's okay to kill children." Parvati snaps.

"Well, it's what the Dark Lord desires and going against his wishes is just like breaking the law."

Neville grabs his wand. _I need to get them out of there._ He scans the group. All the Death Eaters except the one holding the kids have their wands pointed at Parvati. A wand is on the ground a few feet away from her. _That must be hers._

"In any case, a thank you is in order." The Death Eater closest to her says, "You saved us the trouble by bringing these two to us."

"Let them go!" she yells.

"I can't do that. The Dark Lord wants them dead."

Parvati franctically looks around for a means of escape. She looks over at the kids. _I'm so sorry._ Her eyes widen when the Death Eater holding them is hit by a red burst of light and falls over._ Stunned._

"Run!" she screams. "Get out of here!"

She lunges for her wand, grabs it and fires a spell at a Death Eater chasing after the kids. Alan and Sheena run out of the clearing and Neville grabs them.

"Neville!" Sheena yells.

"There's a blue car over there. That's where the others are. Go!"

They run in the direction he shoves them in. He looks back at where Parvati is fighting off two of the Death Eaters. He watches in horror as she's disarmed and the other Death Eaters come to their senses.

She puts her hands up and tries to back away, but stops when one of the Death Eaters prods her in the back with his wand. _I have to help her._ Neville thinks. He moves to barge in but stops when he sees the look on Parvati's face. She shakes her head slightly, so slightly that only Neville notices.

'Go.' she mouths.

"No." Neville whispers.

She silently pleads for him to leave. Neville hesitates but backs away. _I've got to get them to safety._ He hurries over to the car, tears streaming down his face as Parvati's shrill scream fills his ears.

"What's happening?" Sheena asks. "Where's Parvati?"

"Everyone get close and don't move." Neville orders. "Grab onto me. Quickly!"

The kids do as their told and Neville apparates them.

* * *

They stumble around in an empty alley.

"Everyone okay?" Neville asks, dusting himself off.

"I would land in a puddle." Alan mutters, his clothes dripping.

"If everyone's okay we need to keep moving. Come on."

He picks up Aileen and the other four practically run to keep up with his fast stride. He looks all around him, hoping no one notices him. It's broad daylight, but the streets are completely empty. _Even the muggles know it's not safe out here anymore._ Finally, they reach the old, worn building. He peeks into the windows, but sees it's emtpy except for Hannah standing behind the counter and Alice crawling around on the floor.

Neville knocks loudly on the door five times and softly twice. It opens a crack before it's thrown open.

"You made it!"

Hannah kisses his cheek before pulling all of them inside.

"You aren't even going to ask me the security question?" Neville asks.

"No. I know it's you. I can see through any disguise, Neville. No one can quite pull you off."

"Well, you're lucky it's me then. Can you open the door please?"

Hannah nods and they all step around Alice who happily reaches up to all of them. Hannah draws out the runes and the door opens.

"Alright, you four climb down." Neville says.

Malcolm goes down first, followed by Jenny, Sheena and Alan.

"Think you can climb down alright?" Neville asks Aileen.

She nods. He sets her down and she climbs down.

"Where's Parvati?" Hannah asks.

Neville looks at her with sad eyes. He shakes his head before climbing down after the kids.

**So before we go any farther, I thought I'd mention that this is only the beginning of character torture and death. There will be more and I'm unsure of how much detail I'll put into it, but if any of this bothers you then I suggest you probably shouldn't read anymore. Anyway, thanks so much for giving my story a chance! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**And here's chapter five! I hope you all like it! Thanks so much for reading it! :D**

Neville sits on the floor with his back against the wall. He stares at nothing and ignores the kids when they try to talk with him.

"Neville, get up. You can't do this to yourself."

He glances up at Ron. "It's my fault."

"No it's not. I talked to the two kids that were with her. They said that they were ambushed. She tried to defend them but they were too fast for her."

"Had I been with her-"

"You and five kids would probably be dead as well."

"I could've helped her, Ron! I could've saved her! If I had insisted that we stay together...but I was the one that said we should split up. This is all my fault. And those kids had to see that..."

Ron sighed and sat next to him. "Listen, Neville. I've never done a partner mission before. I've always gone solo. I don't know what the best strategy for this is, but I can only imagine that splitting up is probably safer. What if you had all been together and you were all ambushed? You and Parvati are great with spells, but I don't think you two would've survived protecting five scared kids and fighting off five Death Eaters. I know it's going to be difficult to convince you that it isn't your fault, but it really isn't, Neville. You did the best that you could and I'm just glad everything turned out the way it did and not worse."

"I wish I could just go back in time and fix everything."

"We all do, Neville, but you can't dwell on the past. We have to keep moving forward. Tomorrow will bring more children and more chances to save innocent lives."

"Or fail to."

"You can be just as stubborn as Harry could, you know that?"

Neville cracks a smile. "That's what Hannah tells me a lot."

"Well, it's true. Lucky for me, in a week you'll be going back to Hogwarts and McGonagall can deal with you."

"Don't remind me. When I get on her nerves she uses me as an example of transfiguration."

"That sounds like her. Anyway, I'm gonna get something to eat. You want anything?"

"No, thank you."

"You sure? You haven't eaten all day."

"I'll be fine. I'm not very hungry."

"Well, I'm always hungry, so suit yourself."

Ron walks away and Neville stands. He stretches and decides to walk around for a bit to check on the kids. Most of the kids that had been saved were out and about. The older kids that had been living underground for a few years are either reading or learning about magic from Dean. They can't actually do the magic, but they had wanted to learn the theory behind it and that's what Dean knows best. Hermione is tending to a few of the children who are still trying to heal, including Aileen who after a long bath and a couple potions looks much better than she had a few hours prior. The younger kids are in several groups on the floor, playing a miniature version of Quidditch.

Neville walks around all the groups, politely rejecting a few offers to come and play, and he walks down the hall where there are various rooms. A few of the beds are full with both children and Neville's friends who went out in the middle of the night to find Muggleborns. When he gets to the last room he knocks quietly before pushing the door open.

"Hello, Neville."

He smiles at the airy voice. "Luna. How are you today."

She looks up at him with bright silver eyes. "I feel better today than I have in a while."

"Well that's good. Have you tried-"

"Yes, but I can only go a few steps before I feel light headed. Hermione says I'll need a few more days of rest before I should try again."

Neville walks over and sits on the edge of her bed. He takes her frail hand in one of his and brushes back a knot of her blond hair with the other.

"Have you been able to eat today?"

"A little. Hannah sent down a bowl of soup that I could almost finish."

"Mmm. She makes the best soup."

"It was delicious. I was disappointed I couldn't finish it. Neville, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Could you pour me a glass of water, please?"

Neville nods and reaches over to her night stand. He pours her a glass and she shakily sits up. He holds her steady and helps her drink.

"Thank you." she says.

"You don't need to thank me." he says, helping her lie back down.

"But I do. You are a wonderful friend and you have been doing wonderful things out there."

"Yeah, and these wonderful things put you into this mess."

"That may be true but I'm glad that's the reason I'm where I am today. We appear to have a guest."

Neville looks over at the door where he sees Jenny.

"Hi. Is there something I can help you with?"

She chews on her lip nervously. "Um, I just wanted to see if you were okay. You were sad earlier and I just wanted to make sure you were okay so I followed you down here..."

"Oh, well I'm doing better. How about you? How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Good. Give me just a moment, alright?"

"Okay."

Neville looks back at Luna, who is struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I'll let you rest now."

"Alright."

"I'll come back later."

She doesn't respond and Neville realizes she's asleep. He pulls her blankets higher around her and makes sure everything she could need is in close vicinity before walking out.

"Who's that?" Jenny asks.

"Her name is Luna. She's a dear friend of mine."

"Is she sick?"

"Sort of."

"Will she be okay?"

"I don't know. She's been like that for a long time now."

"What happened to her?"

"The Death Eaters did terrible things to her. It's amazing she's still alive."

"Was she trying to help kids like you?"

"No, actually. You see, she was really good friends with this bloke everyone except the bad people liked. They went after her because they knew how strongly she supported our friend."

"Why?"

"Because they're scared. They're scared of people like me who will always support everything Harry fought for and they're scared of people like you, who can spontaneously create magic."

"Who's Harry? Is he here with us?"

Neville shakes his head. "No. He was killed years ago by the worst man of them all, but I like to believe that he's still here with me." He places his hand over his heart and she smiles.

"That's where my dad is."

"Good. You should always keep people you care about there."

"I'm going to keep Parvati there. I didn't know her too well, but she was really brave and nice for trying to save all of us."

"That's where she'll be for me too."

"Neville?"

"Yes?"

"What's going to happen now that we're here?"

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. All I know is that you're safe now and you have nothign to worry about. Now, I've got a few more things to take care of, so go run along."

She hurries away and joins one of the groups on the floor. Neville walks over to where Hermione is sitting, her head in her hands.

"Hey." he says.

"Hello, Neville."

"How are you holding up?"

"Surprisingly much better than I thought I would. How about you? How are you doing?"

"Better. I spoke to Luna a few minutes ago."

"I know she looks better and I know I'm not a real Healer but she's failing, Neville. She probably won't be around that much longer."

"She seems so hopeful though."

"I know and that's what breaks my heart. I can't tell her the truth though. I'm afraid she'd just give up if she knew she wasn't going to make it."

"But she did make it though. Bellatrix thinks she's dead. She thinks she succeeded in torturing her to death."

"She came close. If we hadn't found Luna when we did, Bellatrix would've won."

"But we found Luna, we helped her and she's still with us today. So even if Luna ends up dying tomorrow, we still won in the end."

Hermione nods. "That's what I love about you Neville. You can be optimistic when a lot of us aren't. I wish Harry could see you now. You're so brave and caring. Harry would be glad to know that we're all in your hands."

"Thanks Hermione."

"Don't mention it. You know, I'm almost jealous of Hannah."

"Almost?"

"Yes. If you had red hair and your last name was Weasley it'd probably be a definitely instead of an almost."

Neville chuckles. "If I wasn't happily married I'd probably be taking you up on that almost."

Hermione playfully shoves him. "I should get back to the kids. Unfortunately, one of the kids Ron brought in the other night needs a potion every twenty minutes. If you'll excuse me."

She walks into a room but Neville stays where he is. He thinks about Parvati and how strong she had been. Her sister had been killed by Death Eaters two years ago, and Parvati had remained strong for her parents. When Mr. and Mrs. Patil had received the news of their daughter's death, they had been broken. Parvati was all they had left and now she was gone too.

He picks himself up off the floor and does one last loop before climbing back up the ladder. He pulls out his wand and breaks a small, but deep hole through the roof. A small beam of light hits his face. He sticks his wand in the whole.

"Lumos."

The tip of his wand begins to glow. He holds it there until it is shoved back into the hole. He waits a moment and then the roof splits apart. Hannah smiles at him.

"Perfect timing. The last person just walked out."

"Good."

Neville quickly pulls himself out and they seal up the entrance again.

"Where's Alice?"

"In bed."

"Already? Isn't it a little early?"

"Neville, it's after eight."

"It is?"

"Yes, you were down there for hours."

"I was? I couldn't have been. An hour, sure, but no more than that."

Hannah shakes her head. "You've been down there all evening. Here, you're probably hungry."

She places a thick sandwich, a tall glass of pumpkin juice and a small plate of cookies on the bar. His stomach immediately grumbles.

"Thank you. Listen, I'm sorry that I stayed down there for so long. I know I was gone all night and all day. I didn't mean to do that."

"I understand. Just eat."

Neville doesn't hesitate to take a large bite out of his sandwich. He struggles to chew and nearly chokes on it. Hannah laughs and pushes his juice closer to him.

"What happened out there?" she asks.

Neville lowers his gaze. "I don't want to talk about it."

Hannah places her hand on his chin and forces him to look at her. "Tell me."

"But-"

"Tell me."

He sighs. "Everything was going great. We got the first girl, Jenny, easily. Then we went to an orphanage to get Alan. Parvati got upset that the orphanage was in such a crappy state and she used magic. She stunned the woman in charge."

"What?"

"Yeah, not to mention that this town we were in was heavily guarded because three out of the five kids lived there."

"Were you attacked?"

"No, but we had to move fast. We lost some time because we had to keep to the side, but we finally managed to get to the next girl. She wasn't really hard, but we had to explain things to her so we lost time that way. We apparated to the next boy's house and he was really easy. He lived with his Aunt who was a witch. She understood things quickly so we got out of there, but the last girl was hard. We had to find her on the streets and she was so terrified. She didn't want to come with us. It took a lot of coaxing but she finally came. That was when things got bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Parvati and I split up. We thought we could cover more ground and find the girl quicker if we split up. I found her in the matter of a few minutes, and when we went to go back to Parvati, I saw her surrounded by Death Eaters. I wanted to help her but she told me to run. The Death Eaters didn't see me, so I was able to get the kids out, but she's gone because of me!"

"No, not because of you."

"We shouldn't have split up."

"You had no idea this was going to happen."

"But I should've."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, sweetheart."

"Hannah, Parvati is dead-"

"I think you should see your parents."

"What?"

"I think you should go talk to your parents tomorrow."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Your mum will talk some sense into you."

"Hannah, don't be ridiculous."

"All I know is you always feel better after seeing your parents. Talking with them about this will help you, I know it."

"But-"

"Just talk to them tomorrow, Nev. Please. For me?"

He looks into her dark eyes and can't do anything but nod at the emotion he sees. He knows watching him like this hurts her.

"I'll see them after breakfast."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"When you finish I want you to go to bed."

"But I'm not tired."

"Lies. You had a long day today. You need to rest."

"But-"

"No more buts."

"Fine."

Neville finishes his meal and kisses Hannah good night.

"If Ernie comes in-"

"I'll tell him you'll be busy tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now, upstairs."

He smiles and hurries up to their room. Neville quickly changes into his sleep wear. He walks into the room adjacent and over to a small bed. His daughter is sprawled on hit, sound asleep. Careful not to wake her, he picks her up and brings her over to his bed. He lays her down and climbs in next to her. She snuggles into him and he holds her tight. Lying there in the dark, holding his daughter as close to him as he can, Neville finally allows the tears to fall.

**Next chapter we see Frank and Alice Longbottom! Let me know what you all think! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Thanks for reading and here's the next update! :D**

Neville walks through the window of an old, run down, red building. He blinks to adjust to the bright light of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He nods to the Welcome Witch who smiles at him.

"How are you today, Mr. Longbottom?" she asks.

"I'm fine, thank you. Yourself?"

"Doing well, thank you."

He walks past her and up to the fourth floor. People fill the halls and Neville nods at many familiar faces. He slowly walks into one of the rooms. In the room there are two occupied beds. In one is a man with graying hair and in the other is a woman with short wisps of white hair.

"Hi Mum, Dad." he says.

Neville pulls a chair over from the wall and sits between their beds. Both of the people stare straight ahead of them with lifeless eyes.

"You two look well today." Neville says. "I'm doing alright myself. I leave for Hogwarts in a few days, but until then I'm keeping busy. Your granddaughter, she's just a little ball of energy. There are times where she is completely quiet and you almost forget she's there, but the key word is almost. The second you start to think that maybe you can accomplish something, she starts bouncing off the walls. Just this morning, Hannah was downstairs working and I was trying to get some work done myself so I could have it done early and Alice was just playing on the floor with her dolls. Well, just when I thought that I might actually get it all done, she decided to run around and pretent to be a dragon. She was roaring and flapping her arms around, nearly knocking things over...it was crazy! It took me about ten minutes to calm her down. You two would really love her, though. She's the sweetest little girl I've ever seen and when I show her pictures of you, she just smiles and starts spouting off these facts to you, trying to show you how smart she is. Here, this is the most recent picture of her."

Neville pulls a picture out of his pocket and holds it up to show them. His father holds up his hand and Neville hands him the picture. Mr. Longbottom doesn't look at it but holds it next to him. After a few moments he hands it back to Neville.

"I tell her about you two all the time. I tell her all the stories Gran used to tell me. I think one of these days Hannah and I are going to bring her to visit. She's still a little young now, and I'd hate for her to be scared to come here, but I think she's just about ready. She thinks it's weird that she's named after you, Mum. She doesn't understand how two people can have the same name. Every time I tell her about you, she says you stole her name. Her brows get furrowed and she has this little pout on her face...I can't help but smile and say that you did steal her name.

"You really would love her though. She can be a little crazy, but she is the best thing in my life right now and I do everything I can to protect her. I'm trying to be the best father that I can be, but things are getting complicated. Everyday is a struggle. I knew when I first decided to save Muggleborns that it'd be hard, but I just didn't think I'd lose so much. You know, the other day, Parvati and I were on a mission...she...it didn't well. She sacrificed herself so I could get the kids home safe. She was one of my good friends! Now she's gone and I didn't do a thing about it! What is wrong with me? I am leading people into danger and I keep losing them! Seamus is gone! Terry's a permanent residence here but he might as well be dead! Anthony, Michael, Dave, Rachel, Padma and now Parvati! They're all dead! Luna isn't getting any better, and Justin...he can barely take care of himself. He is under constant surveillance for fear he might hurt himself...everyone just keeps hurting or dying...I just don't know what to do."

Tears stream down his face Neville lowers his head, allowing a few wrenching sobs to escape him. For a few moments, Neville sits in his chair crying while Frank and Alice watch him. Then, Alice climbs out of bed and shakily walks over to him. She places a hand on his shoulder and he looks up at her. Her brown eyes are wide as they regard him; she doesn't say anything and doesn't move. Neville watches a lone tear slip down her face. He rests his hand on top of hers and wipes his face with the other. A deep cry catches his attention and he looks over at his father, who is still sitting in the bed, but is frowning and looking at Neville with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you two. Come on, Mum, let's go back to bed."

He leads her over and she slowly climbs in and allows Neville to drape the blankets over her. He kisses her forehead and walks over to his dad, who still watches him sadly. Neville sits next to him on the and takes his hand.

"You're getting old dad. You're hair is almost completely gray."

Mr. Longbottom smiles slightly, and Neville returns it.

"I really am sorry for upsetting you like that. I'm just very stressed and I'm not sure what to do. Everyone says none of this is my fault and that I'm doing a wonderful thing. I know that saving these Muggleborns is wonderful, but I wish there was a way to do it without losing the people I love. Is it wrong of me to say that?"

Neville looks between his mother and father, but neither of them show any indication that they heard him.

"Hannah tells me more than she should that I have nothing to be guilty about. I just can't help but think that this is all my fault. I know I'm not the one who's killing them, but I am the one who started this whole thing. Then again, if they didn't want to participate they could leave. I'm not forcing anyone. They do this of their own will and I tell them about all the risks and they say that they don't mind the risks. It isn't their choice to die, but it also isn't my fault. Right? That's not selfish of me to say that I play no part in their death?"

Frank's smile slightly widens and Alice reaches over to him. He takes her hand and she squeezes it.

"You're right. None of this is my fault. If I keep thinking it's my fault then it will be my fault because I won't be focused and something really bad will happen. You guys are the best."

Neville sits with them for a while longer, telling them about Hannah and the Leaky Cauldron and how excited he is to go back to Hogwarts.

"Well, the Mediwitch will get upset with me if I stay here too long. I'll let you go so you can get your rest. I love you and I'll try to see you at least one more time before I leave. Bye."

Neville hugs both of them tightly before leaving.

* * *

He walks back into the Leaky Cauldron about an hour later. Hannah smiles at him.

"Hi sweetheart, how'd it go?" She asks, kissing his cheek.

"Very well. Thank you for insisting I go."

"You're welcome. But you're better now?"

"Much."

"Good. You were gone a long time."

"I know. I went for a walk after and then got some ice cream."

"I hope you aren't full. I just made about a hundred sandwiches."

"I'm not hungry, but I'm sure the others are."

"Probably. It's been a few hours since I sent down that oatmeal."

"I'll go take them down. Where's Alice?"

"Upstairs with Susan."

"Oh, Susan stopped by?"

"Yes, a little bit ago. I told her you were due home any moment. She really wants to see you."

"Of course. I'll take these down and be up shortly."

Neville walks into the kitchen and grabs two trays of sandwiches. He peers out of the door and seeing that Hannah is still alone, they open the floor and he climbs down, careful not to drop the trays.

"Food! I'm so hungry!" Ron exclaims.

Hermione swats his arm. "Ronald, please! Let the children eat their fill first."

"But I didn't have breakfast. They already did."

"It doesn't matter. They're still children and we're taking care of them."

"Fine."

"She's got you wrapped around her finger." Neville says.

"Always has."

Neville sits the trays down and after Hermione grabs a few sandwiches for the kids that are too injured to move, he calls all the others over. Ron watches morosely as the sandwiches start disappearing.

"We're going to run out!" he whines.

"There were a hundred sandwiches there. We don't even have fifty kids down here."

"We have more actually."

"Do we really?"

"Yeah. Last I counted I think there's about sixty-two."

"There are sixty-two kids down here?"

"Mmhmm."

"I didn't even think we had that much space."

"Apparently we do. I think over the winter holdiday Dean, Ernie and I are going to put a little expansion down here. It's getting a little crowded."

"It is. Just be sure you don't expand under another building. The last thing we need is someone accidentally finding out where we are."

"Agreed. We were thinking-there's still some left!"

Neville laughs as Ron dives for the sandwiches, grabbing two in each hand. As he starts shoving them in his mouth, the adults grab the rest. Dean, Ron and Neville chat for a bit while Hermione relaxes on the couch with Katie Bell. When Ron lets out a loud belch, Neville waves away the stench and backs up to the ladder.

"Well, I should get back up there. Apparently Susan's here and she wants to talk to me."

"Susan's here? You should get her to come down here and say hi to us. She doesn't come down all that often." Dean says.

"I'll see what I can do. Just don't let Ron burp in front of her. You know what she thinks of bodily gas."

They all share a laugh and Neville turns to leave.

"Neville?"

Neville stops and looks over at Jenny.

"Yes?"

"I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Who's Voldemort?"

His eyes widen. "Who?"

"Voldemort. Who is he?"

"He's not a good person. Why are you asking?"

"I'm curious."

"Who told you about him?"

"Justin."

"How does Justin know?"

"I don't know. He said he fought against him once and now he can't be happy anymore."

Neville rubs his face in his hands and looks over at Dean and Ron.

"Find him before he talks to anyone else." he orders.

They nod and hurry away.

"Neville, you aren't answering the question." Jenny says.

"Jenny, listen. Voldemort is not a good man. He is very, very bad and I don't want you to even think about him, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, I'm not trying to scare you, but I don't want you to tell the others. Alright? Keep this a secret."

"Why?"

"Because some of the other kids might get scared."

"Okay."

"And don't tell them about Justin either."

"Why not?"

"He's very sick and he doesn't want too many people talking to him."

"Got it. I won't tell anyone about Voldemort or Justin."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She skips away and Neville rubs his temples.

"Neville?" Hermione asks.

"I'm going to kill him." he mutters.

"Who?"

"Zacharias. I am going to kill him."

"Wait, why? I know he can be a jerk but why?"

"For not doing what he's supposed to do."

"And that is?"

"Keeping Justin locked away where none of the kids can find him."

"What do you mean? Did one of the kids talk to him?"

"Yes. I'm going to kill him."

Hermoine chases after him as they run down a dark hall. Loud voices and banging can be heard as they get closer.

"Death Eaters!"

"Restrain him!"

"I'm trying! He's out of control!"

"I need to give him his potion! Get him to stop moving!"

"Death Eaters! You're going to die!"

"Easier said than done! Ow!"

Neville and Hermione burst into a room where Dean is wrestling a man on the floor and Ron is cirlcing them, holding a small bottle of blue potion.

"Help, please!" Dean yells at them.

Hermione pulls out her wand and aims it at them.

"Dean, you need to get off of him. I don't want to hit you."

"He's out of control!"

"On the count of three you jump off and I'll bind him. One. Two. Three."

Dean jumps off but isn't able to get off all the way before he is swung around by the man below him. He knocks into Hermione and they fall to the floor.

"Not good!" Ron yells.

Neville launches himself on the thrashing man and wraps his arms around him.

"Death Eater! Get off of me! Get off get off get off!"

"No! You need to calm down!"

The man beneath him continues to thrash and Neville narrowly misses an elbow to the face. They stay like that on the floor, Neville pinning him down and the man writhing and screaming. After what seems like hours but is only a few minutes, the man stops moving and his screams turn into sobs.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he cries.

"I know." Neville says.

"I'm so sorry!"

"I know. Now, Ron's going to give you your potion okay?"

"No!"

"It will help you!"

"No! It's a trap! The Death Eaters put you up to this, didn't they?"

"No, they didn't. I promise. This isn't a trap. The potion will help you relax, okay? I need you to drink it, alright?"

The man shakes his head, but Neville keeps insisting. Finally, he nods and Ron kneels down and places the bottle at the man's lips. His mouth opens and Ron pours the drink down. When it's gone, Neville sits up and pulls the man up with him.

"Feel better now?" Neville asks.

The man nods.

"Good. Now, do you remember what just happened?"

He shakes his head.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Neville Longbottom."

"Do you know who you are?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley."

**What's wrong with Justin? You'll find out in the next chapter which will be up soon! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Here's the next update! :D Thanks a lot for reading! :)**

A few minutes pass and Neville sits where he is, holding Justin by the shoulders. He watches as Justin takes a few deep breaths and his eyes begin to flutter.

"Get his bed ready, please." Neville says.

Dean arranges the blankets and pillows while Ron helps Neville stand Justin up. They walk him over to the bed and he sits, his head lolling to the side.

"He was doing so well today, too." Hermione says, taking off his sneakers, "I checked on him this morning and according to Zacharias, Justin got himself showered and dressed all by himself with no problems. He ate his oatmeal and was actually able to talk with me for a bit without even mentioning it."

Neville sighs, "He has his good days and his bad days. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll ever recover from all of this. I wish he would though. He was a good friend."

"Is a good friend."

"Right."

They lie him down and pull the blankets up under his chin. His eyes continue to flutter but he keeps his gaze locked on Neville.

"The Death Eaters..." he whispers.

"What about them?"

"They won't come, will they?"

"No. You're perfectly safe here."

"Good."

His eyes close and the four of them watch Justin sleep for a few moments.

"I need to go find Zacharias and give him a piece of my mind." Neville says.

"Where'd he go, anyway?" Hermione asks.

"I don't know, but it better have been somewhere important."

"You go find him, mate. I'll watch over Justin." Dean says.

Neville nods a thank you and leaves, Ron and Hermione following him. They walk through the halls, stopping to peek into a few rooms, but finding nothing expect kids reading and playing games with each other.

"I hear him." Ron remarks.

Neville listens and he can hear Zacharias's gruff laughter. He storms into a room and finds him lounging on a chair with his feet on a table, laughing with one of the older kids.

"Out." Neville points to the boy.

"But he's telling me-"

"Out. Now."

The boy scampers out and Neville walks over to Zacharias. He throws his feet off the table and nearly knocks Zacharias out of his chair.

"Hey! What is your problem!" Zacharias yells, rising out of the chair.

Neville pushes him back down. "You! You're my problem! Why can't you just do your job!"

"My job? I do my job! I go to Quidditch practice three nights-"

"Not that job! The job that you volunteered to do! The one that you said you'd be more than happy to do, seeing as how he is your friend!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Justin! I'm talking about Justin!"

"He's fine!"

"He is not fine! We just had to fight him to get him to calm down!"

Zacharias rolls his brown eyes. "You're making this up. He was completely fine when I left them. He was perfectly content sitting in bed and reading."

"Oh was he? Then why did he venture out of his room and talk to a child!"

"He knows he can't leave."

"Does he? Does he really know that? In his right mind, yes, but he's only in his right mind less than an eigth of the time!"

"So what, he talked to a child. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is he told her about the Dark Lord!"

"You're making this up."

"No, I'm not! A little girl came up to me and asked me who Voldemort was! She said Justin told her! First off, there are no kids named Justin here. Second, none of them know about Voldemort! Who else would've told her?"

"You're making this into a much bigger deal than it has to be."

Neville balls his fists but walks away before he does something stupid. Hermione takes his place.

"Why'd you leave anyway?" she asks.

"Justin was fine."

"But you know how unstable he is. You've witnessed first hand how quickly he can change."

"So? He was fine and I've been up all night calming him down. I wanted a break."

"You should've called one of us. Ron would've been more than happy to keep an eye on him for a few hours so you could rest."

"Justin doesn't need a babysitter."

"Are you an idiot? Dean and I went in there to calm him down and he was out of control! He was wild and he could've really hurt someone if he didn't hurt himself first!" Ron yells.

"You're exaggerating."

"You're being stupid! Do you not remember what happened to him? Do you not remember that he's traumatized? He can't get that night out of his head!"

"Why don't we just remove the memory?"

"We've tried but we can't take it out! The Death Eaters used a very powerful form of Dark Magic to keep it ingrained forever! They left him to die and they wanted him to remember that night until he finally did die!"

"Okay, so he's going to forever remember this little attack. Big deal."

Neville's eyes widened. "Little attack? You think he just got stunned a few times?"

"Well, no, but I don't think it was as serious as you think it was."

"Come here."

Neville grabs a handful of Zacharias's blond hair and drags him out of his chair. Zacharias shouts at him to let go, but Neville continues dragging him down the hall and to a small room. He throws Zacharias in and immediately walks over to a wall of shinging phials. He picks one and walks over to the giant pensieve in the middle of the room.

"Get over here." he says, pouring the white liquid in.

Zacharias rubs his head and grumbles to himself but walks over. He and Neville put their heads in.

_Justin peered out from behind a large bush, his wand gripped firmly in his hand. He looked around and walked out from his hiding spot. The sun hadn't quite finished setting, but it was just dark enough to make it difficult to see. He looked around him with wide brown eyes. His curly blonde hair had twigs tangled in it and it hung down to his cheeks, which were streaked with dirt. His clothes looked wet and were spotted with mud._

_He continued to walk slowly, turning around every few steps, always keeping his wand in front of him. Suddenly he stopped. He tilted his head up and sniffed. His stomach immediately began to growl and Justin didn't hesitate before following the smell. His steps were much faster, though he still made sure to avoid stepping on any sticks._

_After a few moments he came by a small cottage. He could see smoke rising out of the chimney. He licked his dry lips and walked over to it. The closer he got the stronger the smell was. By the time he was two feet from the front door he was practically drooling._

_"Can I help you?"_

_Justin jumped and spun around, pointing his wand at a hooded figure._

_"Who are you?" he asked._

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. You're just at my front door. Can I help you with something?"_

_Justin relaxed but he didn't lower his wand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lurk in front of your home. I just smelled whatever it is you have cooking."_

_The hooded figure chuckled. "Oh, that's my special stew. It's an old family recipe. You look starved. Why don't you come in for a bite?"_

_"I'm fine, ma'am."_

_His stomach growled quite loudly and the woman began to laugh._

_"Nonsense! Come on in! I'll scoop you a bowl after I add the herbs I had just collected."_

_Justin stepped aside as the woman walked past him to open the door. When it opened, he was hit in the face by the delicious aroma and he followed her in._

_Inside, there was a fire burning and on top of it a pot that Justin assumed was the stew. The room was small, but cozy. There were flowers everywhere and all sorts of herbs dangled from the roof._

_"It's like Hufflepuff." he whispered._

_"What's that?" the woman asked._

_"Nothing..."_

_The words faded from his mouth as Justin looked at the woman in front of him. She had removed her cloak and he found himself staring at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long red hair cascading down her back, bright eyes and a warm smile gracing her face._

_"Sit down, please. The stew will be ready soon."_

_Justin sat on the comfortable couch and slipped his wand into his pocket. He watched the woman work for a few moments._

_"So, tell me, why are you wandering in the forest?" she asked, handing him a steaming bowl._

_"Oh, I've got nowhere else to go."_

_"You poor thing! It's a good thing you stumbled upon my cottage. You know, you can stay here as long as you'd like, Justin."_

_She reached over and took his hand. He couldn't help but smile at her._

_"That is very kind of you."_

_"What can I say, I'm a very kind person."_

_They ate in silence for a moment and Justin tried hard to remember to chew and swallow every bite before shoving another in his mouth. After he had his fill two bowls later, he leaned back along the couch, feeling very warm and fuzzy. The woman stood in the middle of the room and smiled at him. The glow of the fire outlined her figure and Justin felt even fuzzier._

_"You're the whole package." he said._

_"Pardon?"_

_"Not only are you incredibly kind and a great cook, but you're beautiful."_

_"Thank you."_

_"I mean, it's almost unreal how stunning you are."_

_"Stop it, Justin. You're making me blush."_

_"I'm sorry, but-"_

_His words caught in his throat as he realized she called him by his name. He racked is brain for hers, but nothing came up._

_"Excuse me, but I don't recall ever introducing myself to you." he said._

_"Oh, you didn't have to. I know who you are. I recognized you the moment I laid eyes on you."_

_"Well, I haven't the faintest idea who you are."_

_"You don't have to konw me. It would be a waste of time anyway."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"It's a shame really. You do seem like such a nice person."_

_Justin sat up straighter. "What are you going on about?"_

_"You'll find out soon enough."_

_"I think I'm just going to leave."_

_He moved to stand up but she pushed him back down. Justin looked down at her forearm and his eyes widened._

_"You're a Death Eater." he whispered._

_"Yes. And you're a Muggleborn."_

_He reached for his wand, only to find it missing. She smirked at him._

_"Lose something?"_

_"I'm very sorry for his. It goes against everything my parents told me about manners but I think they'll understand."_

_He shoved her back, hard enough to send toppling over the coffee table. Without looking for his wand, he ran to the front door. When he pulled it open he was sent back a few feet, crashing into the back of a chair._

_"Nice try, Finch-Fletchely."_

_A man stood over him, pointing his wand at him. Two others stood behind him. A third helped the woman to her feet._

_"What do you want?" Justin asked._

_"You're body for the Dark Lord." the man said, "You see, he's been after you for a while now. You're good, I'll give you that much. We never thought we'd catch up to you, untill Miranda here devised this little plot of hers. I'll admit I thought she was crazy to think that someone as smart as you would be quick to walk into a complete stranger's home all for a bite. Though, she is quite pretty, isn't she?"_

_Justin looked over at Miranda and she winked at him, twirling his wand in her fingers._

_"Go ahead and kill me then." he spat._

_"No, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway. You've given us a lot of trouble and some of us, myself including, have had to work over time to catch you. That's a lot of time wasted. We feel that you need to pay us back."_

_"How am I supposed to do that?"_

_The man smirked and motioned for his friends to stand with him. Justin soon found himself in the center of a circle of Death Eaters._

_"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to use my favorite spell on him." the man said._

_Five wands were pointed at him._

_"One. Two. Three."_

_"Crucio!"_

_"Deprimo!" *****_

_"Sectumesempra!"_

_"Praeuro!" ******_

_"Internus Dolor!"*******_

_Justin screamed as the spells hit him_.

Neville and Zacharias stumble away from the pensieve.

"What the hell? How is he still alive? Those spells should've killed him!" Zacharias shouted.

"They were meant to torture him, not kill him. They left him in the forest to die. Dean found him while he was on the run. He tried to nurse him back to health, but even he wasn't doing so good. That's when he saw Susan and she brought them here to Hannah and I. Hermione and Ron were already living downstairs and we had a few kids down there. We were able to heal the injuries, but no matter how hard we try we can't help get that out of his head. All we've been able to do is make a copy of it."

"Has he always been this bad?"

"No. After we healed him and nourished him back to health, he seemed like the old Justin. Sure, he was a little jumpy, but we all were. Ernie sent him on a mission, and he nealy failed it. He was seen and attacked. Thankfully, he was able to get himself and the child back safely, but that attack was what finished him off. Now he's the way he is and he's probably going to be that way forever. There's no helping him. All we can do is hope that he'll be okay and that things will get better for him."

Zacharias looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry. I never knew it was that bad, but if I had, I wouldn't have left him. I didn't know he could snap that easily."

"Well he can, and he has a good reason to. He's lucky to be alive, but he's going to be forever cursed."

"And there's nothing we can do?"

"Not a thing."

"He didn't deserve this. Justin was harmless."

"I agree. I wish it were me, hell I think all of us wish it were one of us instead of him. Unfortunately, no one can change that night. We just have to be there for him and remind him that he's loved."

Zacharias nodded. Without another word he walked past Neville and out the door. Neville stood there for a moment longer before putting the memory away. He walked out of the room and walked back up the ladder to see Susan.

***This is a Harry Potter spell. The wiki page says it blasts holes in things. I'm sure it means in objects, but as a form of torture, the Death Eater chose to blast holes in Justin.**

****This is Latin for burn.**

*****This is Antonin Dolohov's curse. It has no name, but the wiki page says it causes internal pain and that's what the Latin translation means. **


End file.
